The We Company sets its sights on future cities

It wants to work in partnership with communities and governments and aims to fuse nature, design and technology to improve the lives of citizens.

We Company wants to fuse nature, design and technology to shape future cities

The We Company, parent of co-working start-up WeWork, has recruited two high-profile figures to head up a new urban planning venture.

New York City-based designer, Dror Benshetrit, joins former Waze director, Di-Ann Eisnor, to lead a team that will work to “fuse nature, design, technology, and community in our cities in order to measurably improve the lives of citizens”. Eisnor also previously incubated new urban systems at Google’s Area 120.

The team will include engineers, architects, data scientists, biologists, and economists.

Future cities initiative

As part of its “future cities initiative”, We Company will research and explore solutions to some of the toughest challenges facing cities in the 21st century and deepen partnerships with the cities and communities it serves.

In a statement, We Company said it understood the problems facing cities and citizens worldwide are complex and can only be solved in partnership with "creators, communities and governments".

We Company said it is already partnering closely with cities, urban planning departments and economic development corporations to ensure that it can be a partner in positively shaping the future of cities.

The problems facing cities and citizens worldwide are complex and can only be solved in partnership with creators, communities and governments

Last year, it launched an economic impact report which examined the fiscal impact analysis of the WeWork economy, with case studies in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

It plans to build on that research with another economic impact report, which will look at cities at the global level and be published next month. We Company has also partnered with the Aspen Institute’s Future of Work Initiative to conduct original quantitative and qualitative research.

The cornerstone of this partnership will be the first annual WeWork Future of Work & Cities report, a global survey deployed to more than 50,000 people (members and general population) across 50 cities, offering insights that will enable people, companies, mayors, and policy-makers to positively shape the future of work and cities.